I found the entire section on the transgender Tax Inspectors really offensive. They were very mocking and demeaning and not in a way that could be written off as 'just comedy'. That sort of prejudice is already bad enough without it being encouraged on a show that is normally a little more open-minded.
And I'm afraid that is all I really took away from the episode because I kind of stopped paying attention after that and started reading with the episode on in the background.
I did tune back in for Dara's bit on points being added and taken from previous series, though. I find it amusing that the guests seem to always remember so much from their previous appearances.
i agree very much that they did not handle the tg stuff sensitively. it was disconcerting. i also felt like this episode wasn't up to snuff, though i liked some of the callbacks with dara and a few other bits. al murray wasn't great, but he did have one interesting bit about the submarines.
It's not the first time there's been transphobic comedy on QI, either. :( I've given up on it since the gender episode where Stephen essentially said that men are funnier and that's why there are more of them in comedy.
For an intellect as supposedly large as his, he sure has some way to go in his attitude towards gender and sex. :/
I don't want to blow this into a big discussion, but Stephen didn't say that at all. Sandi perhaps joked that it was true but it wasn't Stephen's explanation. I excerpt the episode's transcript here
( ... )
I hated Al Murray's stand up the only time I ever saw any (and since most of his routine seemed to be about tearing into an audience member for being a nerd, I was surprised to see him in QI!) but he was good, I'll admit.
Everybody seemed to be in a good mood, and the whole episode just had a really nice vibe to it.
I loved that series B rant from Stephen, and it reminds you how long they've come, I think Alan used to genuinely annoy him at times, though sometimes that was pure trolling on Alan's part. But Alan's a lot more inquisitive/interested these days, or maybe he always was, but just didn't let it show?
Dara ♥ and Sandi is just legit. She already hosts a panel show, albeit on the radio, but you're right that she would be a very good QI master. She has a dry sense of humour but like Stephen, she is also very interested/full of knowledge and can be mocked for sounding quite posh. :P
Al Murray's Pub Landlord persona isn't everyone's cup of tea, but a lot of his other routines are very funny, if very shouty. :) Al himself though is a massive wartime history buff, and read history at Oxford - fits in with the crowd really!
I'm not usually an Al Murray fan, but he was quite lovely on QI, wasn't he? Charming and inquisitive and interesting. Based on this performance, I did wonder if he'd ever been on it before, and now I really hope he's on it again
( ... )
"I saw the joke being aimed at the people who are backwards-thinking enough to find the presence of a transgender person embarassing, rather than it being aimed at transgender people"
I agree with this - I think the whole point was that they were using something like that to embarass people, not that the trans-gender person was embarassing themselves. I think the more offensive thing was that people like that are used in that way, not the conversation that they had about it on QI.
I enjoyed this episode, I think it was much much better without the "expert", and I hope they stay back on this format rather than having experts again!
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And I'm afraid that is all I really took away from the episode because I kind of stopped paying attention after that and started reading with the episode on in the background.
I did tune back in for Dara's bit on points being added and taken from previous series, though. I find it amusing that the guests seem to always remember so much from their previous appearances.
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For an intellect as supposedly large as his, he sure has some way to go in his attitude towards gender and sex. :/
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Everybody seemed to be in a good mood, and the whole episode just had a really nice vibe to it.
I loved that series B rant from Stephen, and it reminds you how long they've come, I think Alan used to genuinely annoy him at times, though sometimes that was pure trolling on Alan's part. But Alan's a lot more inquisitive/interested these days, or maybe he always was, but just didn't let it show?
Dara ♥ and Sandi is just legit. She already hosts a panel show, albeit on the radio, but you're right that she would be a very good QI master. She has a dry sense of humour but like Stephen, she is also very interested/full of knowledge and can be mocked for sounding quite posh. :P
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I agree with this - I think the whole point was that they were using something like that to embarass people, not that the trans-gender person was embarassing themselves. I think the more offensive thing was that people like that are used in that way, not the conversation that they had about it on QI.
I enjoyed this episode, I think it was much much better without the "expert", and I hope they stay back on this format rather than having experts again!
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